Structural influences on charge carrier dynamics for small-molecule organic photovoltaics

We investigated the structural influences on the charge carrier dynamics in zinc phthalocyanine/fullerene (ZnPc/C₆₀) photovoltaic cells by introducing poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) and 2,5-bis(4-biphenylyl)-bithiophene (BP2T) between indium tin oxide and ZnPc layers. ZnPc films can be tuned to be round, long fiber-like, and short fiber-like structure, respectively. Time-resolved microwave conductivity measurements reveal that charge carrier lifetime in ZnPc/C₆₀ bilayer films is considerably affected by the intra-grain properties. Transient photocurrent of ZnPc single films indicated that the charge carriers can transport for a longer distance in the long fiber-like grains than that in the round grains, due to the greatly lessened grain boundaries. By carefully controlling the structure of ZnPc films, the short-circuit current and fill factor of a ZnPc/C₆₀ heterojunction solar cell with BP2T are significantly improved and the power conversion efficiency is increased to 2.6%, which is 120% larger than the conventional cell without BP2T.